Mayoigo
by Taeron
Summary: The lost children of Konoha have been searching for a home they didn't know existed for years, but when they stumble across a certain blond haired ninja, they may have just found their ticket home.
1. Taken!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

But that's ok.

* * *

Mayoigo

Prologue

Taken

Neji signaled his team that he was ready to go, and was awaiting the signal from the others. The other figure nodded and settled into place in the branches just above the warehouse. Neji flipped through a series of familiar seals and focused chakra to his eyes.

"Byakugan" he whispered.

A gray image of the surrounding area entered his vision. Neji first checked the surrounding area, then sent his sight floating to the front entrance of the warehouse. A couple of talking figures sat in front of it, one of which was clad in a coat that covered the lower half of it's face. The other figure seemed to be doing most of the talking, leaving the figure with the coat to remove it's sunglasses.

Neji nodded and once again focused his sight this time to the other side of the building. A figure with hair that didn't quite blend in with the surroundings was placing what appeared to be a sticker on the side of the building. Neji saw a brief burst of chakra escape the figure, who promptly gave a thumbs up to no one in particular, for a very long time, making him look fairly stupid.

_'Kinda like Gai-sensei.' _Neji thought.

Neji nodded the figure above him and moved in to engage the guard who was standing at the side entrance to the warehouse. The man barely had time to register that an enemy had entered the vicinity before he was thrown against the wall, his insides thoroughly blasted through with a couple of carefully placed bursts of chakra.

Neji quickly stepped up to the door and tried to open it.

_'Locked!' _he thought.

He motioned to the shinobi who had appeared next to him. The pink haired Kunoichi nodded and pulled out a clip from her hair. She quickly picked the lock and stood back. Neji nodded to her and flung the door open.

A group of black clad men sitting at a table flung their chairs aside and turned to the threat that was approaching through the door. Ignoring them, Neji flung a blast of concentrated chakra at the other wall. A short hissing sound was followed by a huge explosion which blasted the wall inwards onto the men. They let out cries of dismay and fell to the ground under the barrage of wood that was being hurled at them. Neji, confident that the Kunoichi behind him had stepped out of range, flung himself into a spin, releasing chakra and calling out.

"Kaiten!"

The semi-lethal barrage of splintered wood that was headed towards him and his partner were reflected by a sphere of spinning chakra that was focused around him.

The figure who had attached the recently exploded note to the wall leaped through the breach, followed by several copies of himself.

"Eh! Nejiii!" he whined, "You beat them all!"

"Quiet baka!" he yelled back.

Although Neji liked, and, maybe even respected, Konoha's number one hyperactive ninja, but he found his loud attitude to be detrimental to missions. Naruto also respected the Hyuuga prodigy as one of the best fighters he knew, but he also considered him a uptight control freak. Despite this, he kept his silence, he was well aware of how the mission plan was supposed to work.

A few moments later, the front door exploded inwards, followed by a flying guard, who was followed by a brown haired Kunoichi, holding a pair of sunglasses and a jacket.

"Ugh, I'm never wearing that again, it makes me feel like there's bugs crawling over my skin." commented Ten-ten.

As the shinobi got settled, they began to check the warehouse for any other signs of people. There were fortunately, none. After their inspection of the area, they moved out of the warehouse into the starry night, where one last ninja stood, his hands held in a strange seal. Even stranger, was the group of people who were imitating him.

"I was wondering when you guys were going to show up." The figure called.

The other ninja laughed and moved towards their comrade.

"C'mon Shikamaru, this was your plan, oh eminent Chuunin master." called Naruto playfully.

Shikamaru sighed and said something about troublesome.

"We got it from here Shikamaru." said Neji, settling himself in the middle of the group of men, the rest of his team positioned strategically around them.

Shikamaru nodded and dropped to his knees before releasing the jutsu. The group of men dropped with him before they were suddenly released.

"Kaiten!" Neji called, once more spinning in place, sending countless men flying.

Ten-ten, and Naruto took a more direct approach, discarding their justu in favor of beating their opponents down with their weapons and fists. Sakura on the other hand began a set of seals

_Boar, Ram, Dog, Horse_

"Anmin. (quiet sleep)" she whispered

The men in front of her collapsed into a heap, barely breathing in the deep slumber she had placed on them.

Soon enough, the entire group was dispatched and the team was able to rest for a bit. They took a drink from their small water bottles and sat down, waiting for Shikamaru to regain enough strength to move without help.

"That was pretty close." He said, "It's troublesome to have to hold more than one person with Kagemane nojutsu, even if they aren't shinobi."

"Heh, if that's all that you can take, I barely see how you became a Chuunin." Neji scoffed, smiling.

"Just because I don't have your fancy Kaiten... Ugh, that's not good." he exclaimed, sitting up.

The group of shinobi looked in the direction he was facing. The building which they had served as a meeting house for the group of revolutionaries was starting to smolder.

"What the..." Sakura began.

She was cut off by Neji, who threw himself at his team, tackling everyone except for Naruto to the ground. Naruto, who had been out of range of Neji's flying tackle, had enough time to wonder why the building sounded mysteriously like a giant tag.

The full force of the explosion slammed into him, slamming into the wall on the far side of the street with concussive force. He had barely enough time to register a group of black shapes leaping out of the wreckage before he was lifted into the air by a fairly brawny man, who clocked him over the head, making him black out.

* * *

So... whatcha think? 

Mayoigo: Lost (stray) Child

If anyone knowas the translation to make this a plural, (lost children) I would appreciate if you told me :)


	2. Rescue?

Alright, standard disclaimer etc. etc.

hope you enjoy the chapter ;)

* * *

Mayoigo

Chapter 1

Rescue?

Naruto was jolted from unconsciousness as the man carrying him dropped him unceremoniously to the ground. He found he was lying on his back in the dark with a dozen sharp rocks jabbing into his back.

"Eh! What was that for!" he grumbled loudly, opening his eyes.

He was forcibly reminded of his imprisonment when on the man swatted him.

"Shut up kid!" he whispered fiercely.

"How you gonna make me!" Naruto yelled back, trying to nurse his burning jaw with his tied hands.

Naruto gasped as a kick caught him under the ribs and threw him back several feet. He felt his eyes water in pain, but he held it back.

'_A ninja must not cry!' _he shouted defiantly at himself.

Naruto curled up on the ground where he was and waited for more blows to rain down on him, but they never came. He opened a curious eye and saw that the man had gone off to get something to eat.

'_Great! Now I can untie myself, hehe idiots.'_ Naruto thought.

Naruto busied himself trying to untie the bands that held him. He twisted and writhed, he even tried forcing chakra into his arms to burst the ropes, but nothing would work. In fact, the worst part about the ropes around his arms was the fact that they seemed to cut the flow of chakra to his feet and hands to a minimum. Nevertheless, Naruto wasted no time in hurling large gouts of his chakra at the barriers, and thoroughly tiring himself out.

"Give it up boy, you're not going to break those ropes, and you're just keeping us awake." A man called over to him.

Naruto grunted as his captor kicked him once again to reinforce his comrade's point. Then he too settled to the ground, preparing to sleep for the night. Naruto gave one last futile attempt at bursting the ropes before deciding that it would be better to bide his time and save his reserves rather than spend them all in a futile attempt to break out right now.

Naruto didn't get much sleep that night, his aching ribs and throbbing head made sure of that.

The darkness beyond his captors' campfire seemed to taunt him with the beckoning hands that were cast by nearby trees. The silvery sickle moon provided barely enough light to make itself seen, let alone break the shadow's embrace on the night. Thus, Naruto was left in to stare up at the stars, catching one of them falling occasionally.

Not too long after that, Naruto began to count the trees in the surrounding to pass time. It was when he had reached the one hundred and fifty-sixth tree that he realized something was wrong.

He swept his gaze over a "tree" which had been making it's way to different places around the clearing. He hadn't seen it move, but he was sure that it had, because after the fifth time counting it, he could tell that it was definitely the same tree, considering it wasn't back in the places he had counted it earlier. He quietly sat up and looked stared intently at the tree. It seemed to grow hazier when he looked directly at it.

'_Genjutsu! It must be Sakura-chan'_ he cheered in his mind.

A decidedly un-Sakura-like head appeared around the side of the "tree" and examined the camp, counting numbers and taking note of the captive who was sitting up. Naruto waved both of his hands in a kind of salute and waited. Before long, the tree moved from it's current position. It sidled up to one of the sentries and a hand shot out of the tree, brushing against that man's voicebox. The man tried to yell out, but he found that the tenketsu around his throat had been sealed. He gargled incoherently and fell to the ground as the tree struck him in the chest, knocking him out cold. Naruto almost cheered, but caught himself and made a loud snoring noise to cover the sentries gargling.

Naruto felt a tug on the ropes holding his hands and he flopped to the ground in a heap of dust.

"Hey! What the heck was that for!" he yelled at his captor before he could control himself.

Half of the camp, about six men, sat up instantly, only to realize that the other half was either dying or unconscious, if not dead. They cried out as Naruto slapped his hands over his mouth.

'_IDIOT' _he thought at himself.

Naruto felt himself being yanked to his feet as his captor leaped out of his makeshift bed. The cold steel of a kunai pressed itself into his flesh, threatening to break skin.

"Don't come any closer, I'll kill him!" shouted the man.

Naruto felt his blood run cold. He had been in some bad situations in his life, but this was probably one of the worst, sitting in the middle of a camp of enemies with his chakra secured away from his hands and feet, while a kunai was pressed to his throat. It reminded him somewhat of when Gaara had him trapped in Sabaku Kyuu, luckily, he had been able to summon Gamunbunta before he could perform Sabaku Sousou. Unfortunately, there would be no timely summon to help him this time. He had himself and the ninja who were outside of the camp. Speaking of which…

A lone figure stepped into the firelight. He had the appearance of a Hyuuga, milky white eyes and all, as if his Byakugan were active. Strangely enough, there were no veins popping out around his eyes, so it could only be assumed that his natural eye color was a glazed white. His pupil less eyes didn't bother to focus on any enemy, instead, just stared straight ahead and sat there.

Finally, one of Naruto's captors threw a shuriken at the intruder. Naruto was afraid that the Hyuuga wouldn't dodge. He was proven right. The shuriken flew straight and true, then seemed to stop, quivering in the air for a second before falling to the ground. The Hyuuga raised his hands and formed seals.

_Dragon, Ox, Tiger._

'_Ninpou, Kyokujitsu!' _(Rising sun)

Naruto blinked as nothing seemed to happen, then he realized that the men around him were screaming in pain, rubbing, or even clawing, at their eyes. A most of the men managed to bring their hands together and dispel the genjutsu that the Hyuuga had placed on them. They blinked briefly, and would have stood up, but a hail of senbon flew from the woods and buried themselves into weak points on the ninja. A few fell over, paralyzed outright, but the two remaining ninja stood no chance.

A Kunoichi descended from the trees and landed in the middle of the group, flashing through a group of seals.

_Tiger, Dragon, Ram, Tiger_

'_Kon Hinote Nojutsu' _(Soul Flames)

White fire erupted from the girl's hands and enveloped the two remaining ninja. They tried to scream, but as soon as they opened their mouths the flames drew the air out of their lungs. Finally, after a few seconds which seemed like an eternity to the ninja on the ground, they collapsed, breathing heavily, completely drained of chakra and strength.

Naruto looked at his rescuers with confusion. He had never seen these ninja before, and they weren't wearing headbands of any kind.

"What village are you from." He asked suspiciously.

"We aren't from a village." Replied the Hyuuga.

"Nukenin!" Naruto shouted in dismay, "I'll make you guys pay for betraying your village!"

The Hyuuga laughed. "All tied up like that? Anyway," he began, drawing a kunai, causing Naruto to wince, "We aren't missing nin, we're lost nin."

He punctuated his sentence with a swipe of his kunai. It sliced Naruto's bands apart easily, leaving him staring at the two ninja in the clearing.

"What the heck's a lost nin?" he asked.

* * *

In case you're wondering, the two jutsu of Gaara's I mentioned are Desert coffin and Desert Graveyard. 


	3. Sand

insert standard disclaimer here

anyone else having trouble uploading at certain times?

anyway, enjoy :)

* * *

Mayoigo

Chapter 2

Sand

"What's your name?" the Hyuuga asked.

Naruto struck a pose and declared loudly, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage!"

The Hyuuga, instead of responding to Naruto's statement, gave a piercing whistle to the trees. Another shinobi jumped out of the darkness into the light.

"Ruko, make sure they don't wake up for a while, then we need to go. I'll explain on the way, in the meantime, we need to leave. Our ambush may have succeeded, but we don't have enough power to face this many people at once on even grounds." The Hyuuga stated calmly. "Or, alternatively, you can stay here, but that's your choice."

The teen identified as Ruko pulled several vials out of his clothes and began to administer injections through a needle that extended from his leather gloves. The ninja that were injected fell into a deep sleep, almost near death. It was fairly clear to Naruto that they would die if so much as a fox came upon them while they were in this state.

He stated his concerns, "Hey, what happens to these guys when we leave?"

"If they're lucky, they'll survive, if not, it's not our problem." The Hyuuga replied evenly.

Naruto was about to protest when he remembered that they had threatened to kill him, and would probably do a similar thing if they had been beaten. He still didn't like it.

"Can't you do something to protect them Hyuuga?" he asked determinedly.

The Hyuuga did a double take, then turned back to Naruto, "What did you call me?"

"A Hyuuga, what else would you be?" Naruto asked.

"You've met people like me?" he breathed.

"Yeah, they live in Konoha." Naruto replied, trying to figure out why this kid had no idea what a Hyuuga was.

"Hanmou, you know what that means! We've found it finally." The girl exclaimed.

The Hyuuga now known as Hanmou glanced down at her and smiled.

Hanmou's face got a wondering look, "It's amazing isn't it Ayumi, we spend years searching, and we do a good deed and we find our way home."

Naruto's eyes swept between the two, "What are you guys babbling about?"

Ruko, who had finished his work, wandered back over to the others and fixed Naruto with a silent gaze, as if he were trying to communicate something.

After a few seconds, the teen finally whispered "Home"

Naruto raised an eyebrow to this. "What do you mean home?"

"No time now, we have to go, can you read maps?" Hanmou asked Naruto.

Naruto nodded, and Hanmou procured a map. He handed it to the Ayumi, who pointed out a section that was farther than just a few days travel from Fire country, and Konoha.

Naruto stared for a second, "Eh! How did I get so far from Fire country!"

"Calm down, those suppression bonds probably kept you asleep for a good portion of the trip. As far as I can tell, they were members of a group called Datenshi. They probably had some motive for taking you this far away from your comrades." Ayumi soothed.

Naruto calmed down a little and took up the map. The place he recognized as fire country wasn't actually labeled on this map, in fact, the map seemed centered on a much larger land mass, which undoubtedly resided to the west of the world that Naruto knew of. He pointed to Fire Country.

"That's where I come from."

Ayumi and Hanmou nodded, then disappeared for a second, returning quickly with a pair of backpacks.

"Doesn't he have a pack?" Naruto asked, pointing to Ruko.

"Nope, he's gets food from somewhere, but I don't know where the heck that is." Hanmou replied.

Naruto stared at Ruko for a second before bursting out, "That must be an awesome technique!"

Hanmou and Ayumi stared at Naruto for a moment, then burst out laughing. Ruko just blinked and smiled. Naruto fumed at the laughter of the others.

"HEY! What the heck is that laughing for!" Naruto yelled at them.

"I'm sorry Naruto-san, but Ruko doesn't actually use a Jutsu, he kinda finds food or something like that." Ayumi snorted.

Naruto growled, but withheld any further comments. Hanmou suggested that they move out and they did so with haste, but not before leaving a perimeter of warning seals that would scare away most animals. Naruto in the lead, they made good time, covering an amazing distance using their enhanced speed and endurance. By the time they stopped for their first break, the sun had reached the peak of it's course and was beginning to descend into the afternoon. Naruto, far less winded than the other shinobi, finally got around to asking his questions.

"What's a lost nin?" Naruto demanded.

Hanmou glared at him from his seat on the ground, but replied anyway, "Ever heard of the great shinobi wars? Or the demon attacks? Or maybe even just a regular mission?" He shifted slightly, getting comfortable, and gestured for Naruto to sit as well, "Well, naturally, there are always children that get caught up in these events somehow. Sometimes it's an overeager academy student, or maybe it's an accidental encounter with a not so empty house. In any case, things happen to those children. Usually, they're killed outright, so that they keep silent," Naruto growled and clenched his hands at this, "But sometimes, a ninja will take pity on the child that they have found and claim it has their own. The list of reasons and acts goes on."

Naruto blinked, "So that means..."

Hanmou nodded "The ninja will take the child home and either care for it and teach it how to become a shinobi, or, in the worst case, will sell them for money or favors."

"And what kind are you?" Naruto asked, almost knowing the response.

"I am one of the latter kind, Ruko is too. Ayumi-chan had a decidedly gentler life, but it was still harsh on her."

Ayumi nodded, but when Naruto turned to Ruko, the boy just stared at the ground, unwilling to meet his gaze. When he turned back to Hanmou, Naruto noticed something. Hanmou had not looked directly at him for the entire passage of the speech he had given. He was as a matter of fact, not looking at anything at all.

"Eh? Hanmou-san, what's wrong." Naruto queried.

Hanmou shook his head and repositioned his head, but here was still something wrong with his eyes. "Sorry, lost myself for a second there, anyway, we should get moving again."

Naruto wasn't convinced that was it, but he agreed nonetheless.

Now, when Naruto had first thought that Fire Country was several days travel away, he had failed to take into account the fact that these were shinobi of unknown power and endurance. So, as normal of anyone who meets a friend who they don't know well, he underestimated them. He soon realized that whenever he had traveled, he had been held back by the people with him, who often needed more rest breaks than him, and were sometimes slower. It turned out that these people were just a little under his stamina, and if not over, equal to his speed.

Naruto hungered for their training techniques "What kind of training do you guys do to become this strong?"

Hanmou and Ayumi exchanged smiles while Ruko chuckled, "Well, ever heard of unorthodox training techniques?"

Naruto nodded, and Hanmou continued, "Well, Ruko here, decided that it would be fun to see if he couldn't find a more interesting way to train himself. Needless to say, it involved a school of pirahnas, half a quart of blood, and an umbrella."

"Umbrella?" Naruto asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Creates drag..." Ayumi giggled, nudging Ruko until he almost hit a tree.

"Despite the fiasco of his first attempt, Ruko hasn't given up on his attempts, and the training he's come up with has proven quite effective in most cases, except for that one with the tigers... I never want to do that again." Hamou shivered.

"Tigers" Naruto asked, perplexed now.

Ayumi filled him in, "Ruko decided that he should train up Hanmou's killing intent, so what did he do? First, he exhausted his chakra by using a trademarked draining attack, then, he got him drunk, inhibiting the recirculation of chakra through his body, as he was releasing it in random bursts all night, then, he took his weapons. The next morning, Hanmou found himself almost naked laying face to face with half a dozen tigers in the local zoo, and it wasn't from behind the bars."

"Almost died... but... it worked, and no, I still haven't forgiven you" Hanmou shot at Ruko's hopeful face.

Naruto was a little intrigued, "What did you do?"

"Well you see, while he was getting me drunk, he said to me that killing intent was a fairly useful ability. I literally had to stare each one down while dodging the others. I was lucky that we got out of town just after that, I thought they were going to have me commited."

Naruto laughed and let the subject lie. They traveled in silence a while longer, entranced by the constant thump of their sandals on tree limbs. Naruto was about to begin another exposition when he suddenly felt the world drop out from underneath himself.

"GAH!" he cried out.

He caught sight of Ruko flipping through a complex series of hand seals. Just as he was about to hit the ground, he felt his world blur.

_Okunoin nojutsu _(inner sanctuary) a voice echoed through his head.

Naruto looked up to see Ruko walking slowly down in the air towards him. He felt Ruko's hands close around him and float him towards the ground. When he felt his feet touch the ground the world seemed to catch up with itself and everything returned to focus. Naruto stumbled as his center of balance was drastically changed. He looked back to where he had fallen and saw a nest of some kind of bug. Each one was about the size of his fist, and all appeared to be asleep, they bore a strange resemblance to a very large rhino beetle, except for the fact that they had pincers that looked like they would do a lot of damage. Naruto shivered and turned to Ruko, intending to thank him.

Naruto stumbled as the other ninja collapsed onto him, convulsing and frothing at the mouth. Blood had mixed with the foam escaping the boy's mouth, probably from a bitten tongue, and it had turned a sickly pink color. Naruto had barely a moment to be surprised before Ayumi landed next to him, yanking Ruko away from him and slamming him on the ground, holding him there.

She snapped a look at Naruto, "Help me!"

Naruto fell to his knees and held down Ruko's legs and arms while Ayumi pinned his head. Hanmou appeared next to them and took up a strange hybrid of the Hyuuga style Jyuuken stance. Before Naruto could react, Hanmou directed a flurry of blows onto Ruko's convulsing form. After a dozen strikes, the boy fell silently back to the ground, exhausted and unconcious.

Hanmou fell out of stance and came out glaring at Naruto, "BAKA!" he yelled, "Watch where you're going!"

Naruto was too stunned to reply.

_'Jyuuken stance used in treatment?' _he thought.

Hanmou backhanded the blond, sending him into a tree, "You're lucky to be alive, a ninja must always pay attention to his surroundings. Those beetles would have eaten you from the inside out. Be glad that Ruko responded so fast. And even so! Look!" he gestured at the unconscious Ruko.

Naruto glared back at the Hyuuga, nursing his injured jaw, unable to talk through a combination of pain and embarrassment. Hanmou looked like he was about to say more, but Ayumi placed her hand on his arm, restraining him.

Hanmou nodded and sighed, "Just be more careful Naruto, we've been together for a long time, and I'd hate to lose one of us when we're this close to home. As for that jutsu, don't ask about it, he can't teach it to you, Ayumi is the only person who could possibly learn it." Hanmou turned away from him and walked over to Ruko, slinging him over his shoulders, "Anyway, we have to keep moving, do you know of a nearby village?"

Naruto shook his head, still a little sulky, but willing to help. They resorted to heading back on their normal course towards Konoha, and hopefully, they would either run into a town or Naruto would recognize something.

It wasn't long before the woods began thinning out, then disappeared entirely. Naruto almost fell over when the firm ground suddenly became coarse sand. He caught himself just before he overbalanced, perching precariously on one foot. When he regained his balance his head came up, Naruto had his signature grin plastered on his face.

"Hey Hanmou! I think I know just the place to get help for your friend."


	4. Gaara's Revelation

Wow, it's been a long time. oh well

Disclaimer: I don't own anything

* * *

Mayoigo

Chapter 3

Gaara's Revelation

"Are you sure this is a good idea Naruto-san, from what you said about this Gaara person, it seems like he would rather kill us than look at us." Hanmou said apprehensively.

Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head, "Well, I might have exaggerated on the killing part, or maybe not, but anyway, he's gotten a lot better since I beat him down and saved his life. Now he's one of the greatest Kazekage's that Sand has ever seen."

Hanmou raised his eyebrows but decided to ignore the part about not exaggerating on the killing. If Naruto was to be believed, Gaara had once been a psychopathic killer, and in Hanmou's mind, anyone who had been like that could backslide.

Ruko had regained consciousness shortly after his ordeal, and quietly demanded that Hanmou set him down. Hanmou had complied reluctantly, and sat, not looking directly at Ruko, as he gulped down a strange concoction that he mixed up from a packet of herbs he pulled from his backpack. He had seemed revitalized for a while afterwards, but a bit before they came within sight of the gates, he had begun to shiver, and a cold sweat had broken out on his body.

Naruto looked worriedly at Ruko, who met his gaze stolidly. His purple eyes turned aside Naruto's questions, and he continued to lead them. The gate loomed over them like a silent guardian as they reached it's base, and Naruto called up.

"Hey! Wake up and let us in!"

The guard startled awake and peered over the side of the wall, "Go away, gate opens at dawn, no earlier!"

"Tell that to the Kazekage when he demands to know why you left Uzumaki Naruto out here all night!" Naruto shot back.

Naruto grinned at the others as he heard a chair overturn and an alarmed voice call out something into a speaker. Instead of having the gates open though, Naruto was surprised to see an entire squad of ANBU flash down from the walls and surround them. Naruto was about to greet them when the leader, a man in a bird mask, stepped forward.

"Uzumaki Naruto, you have been charged with treason against the hidden village Konoha, and as such, it is my duty as an ally of said village to apprehend you under section 26C of the code of alliances. Should you choose to resist arrest, we will be forced to act with extreme prejudice in your arrest, which may result in the loss of one or more limbs, chakra coils, or even your life."

Naruto gaped at the ANBU captain, "I'm what?"

Hanmou sidled up next to Naruto and whispered, "I thought you said they were friendly."

"Well they were! I don-" Naruto's sentence was cut off as one of the ANBU slapped a seal on his chest.

Naruto had a second to realize what had happened before he fell unconscious. His last thought was; _Why me?_

Hanmou sensed another hand heading towards his chest, undoubtedly with a seal held in it. Just as the hand was about to make contact, it stopped suddenly. The ANBU in front of him stared in amazement as his hand seemed to stop in mid-air.

The others, sensing something wrong, began to form seals. They were about to let fly their jutsu's when Ayumi appeared next to Hanmou. They suddenly felt their jutsu's fail as Ayumi's hands formed a single seal, which was completely foreign to them.

"Hanmou, Ayumi, calm down, we are not their target." Ruko whispered from behind them.

Hanmou turned to Ruko apprehensively, but complied, as did Ayumi. Ruko then turned to face the ANBU captain.

"We will go with you, but be warned, we are not an easy target, any attempt to harm us or our guide will not go well for you." He stated calmly.

The captain regained his composure and nodded slightly. He turned back to the gate and whistled up to the guard, who promptly had the gate opened. They entered, with Naruto over the shoulder of one of the ANBU and Ruko leaning on Hanmou. The gate slammed shut behind them, separating the three lost ninja from their quickest escape route. Despite Ruko's words, Hanmou and Ayumi had their hands poised over their weapon pouches, ready for the least sign of danger.

If they had been hoping for a fight, they were disappointed. They were led to the ANBU station and Naruto was thrown in a cell, while they were bunked under guard in an unoccupied living area reserved for visiting foreign ANBU.

Ruko seemed the calmest of all. Either because of his weakness or his trust of the locals, he dropped into a bed immediately, not even bothering to check for some sort of trap. Ayumi and Hanmou were far more paranoid. They first checked the door for a lock, which it certainly had. After they bolted it shut, they also lodged several kunai into the crevices around it and then checked for the usual traps. They found nothing, then, reluctantly, and with little talk, they settled down to sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

When Hanmou awoke, he wondered how he had slept at all. Up from the cell which had been conveniently placed directly under them, came the loud, and somewhat obnoxious voice of Konoha's number one hyperactive ninja. He appeared to be calling for food, and was determined to keep the entire garrison awake until he got some.

Hanmou finally rolled out of bed and looked over at his two friends. Ruko was staring directly at the ceiling, while Ayumi was sleeping, or more correctly, snoring and drooling. After nodding to Ruko he took a shower in the adjoining chamber and got back into his clothes. The other two quickly followed suit, after being awakened and annoyed by the loud blonde's voice.

"Baka!" Ayumi yelled downwards, "Be quiet, we're working on it!"

"Eh! Ayumi-san! Help me out here, I'm gonna staaarve!" Naruto yelled up to them.

The three ninja sighed and left their room. They searched for several minutes until they found an ANBU who directed them to the kitchen. Soon, they were all happily munching of toast and eggs, now able to ignore the cries of their imprisoned comrade.

They were about half way through breakfast when the yells suddenly ceased. Hanmou and Ayumi seemed to be worried at this development, considering they had just sensed a large chakra source enter the building and approach Naruto's cell.

Ruko calmly stood up, "Let's go check on Naruto"

After receiving more directions, they made their way to the temporary holding facilities and were directed to Naruto's cell. The jailor gave them a strange look, but allowed them to pass into the narrow hall.

Standing directly before a cell that was emitting loud slurping noises, sat a red haired shinobi, whose presence in it self seemed intimidating. The three bowed their heads respectively to the red haired shinobi, having been "trained" well in their previous lives to respect those with a blatantly higher position than them.

The red haired ninja glanced at them, then sent a burst of sand between the bars straight at Naruto. Naruto barely lost momentum in his eating, before another, larger burst of sand encased the bowl of ramen he was eating and yanked it from his hands. He growled threateningly at Gaara until he realized who had shown up.

"Guys! I'd like you to meet Gaara of the sand, he's the Kazekage!" Naruto yelled.

Gaara winced, then muttered, "Stupid hat…."

"These are the guys I was telling you about Gaara, Ayumi, Hanmou and Ruko, they're awesome shinobi, they beat a force triple their size in one attack, it was amazing!"

Gaara appraised the three ninja before turning back to Naruto, "Even so, as I was saying Naruto, you've been officially declared a missing nin because of-"

A pair of chopsticks flew out of the cell, but were easily blocked by Gaara's natural sand shield.

"Before you start with your boring speech, gimme my ramen back!" Naruto exclaimed.

Gaara sighed and sent the bowl back through the bars into Naruto's eager hands, he began to eat it with renewed vigor.

"Anyway, you've been declared a missing nin because of the fact that you've been gone for over three months, now, standard procedure would have been to declare you dead, but that would have meant that the council could take all your property, because of your lack of family, however, Tsunade thought it would be best if she could confiscate your belongings and safekeep them for you, especially a few scrolls with delicate information on them, such as your file, and the enormous amount of money that is being held for you. She would only be allowed to do this if you were declared and 'enemy to the village'"

Naruto raised his head, "The wha? And besides, they all saw me get taken not of my own free will!"

"That's not actually true, after your friends were hit by the explosion they failed to see you get captured."

Naruto shrugged and went back to work on the next bowl of ramen. When Hanmou peered in, he saw that the place was filled with full, and empty bowls of the stuff.

"Now as for you…" Hanmou's head shot up at the comment directed at him, "I can tell your ancestry, but not the other two. You have a choice to make, you can either return to Konoha, and be instated as ninja, or you can continue on as freelancers, considering that you have no ties to a village that we know of, or are allied with."

The three ninja looked at each other, thinking before nodded their heads to Hanmou. "I think we would prefer to see our home before we decide on a course of action Kazekage-Sama."

Gaara nodded and spoke once more, "And one more thing Hanmou, the Hyuuga clan is known for being especially vicious with their cursed seal, and constantly use it on members of the branch family. If it is found that you are descendant of the branch family you only need mention mine and Naruto's names. If that doesn't stop them, you are permitted to return to Suna."

Hanmou bowed once again and thanked Gaara for his concern and offer. Gaara opened the cell and accompanied Naruto outside of the ANBU station.

"You guys had better get started, I've already sent a message ahead to Konoha informing them of your presence."

The three lost nin complied and moved back inside to grab their gear. Gaara accompanied them to the gates and nodded once to Naruto before heading back to his abode.

"Wow, he was pretty intimidating." Ayumi commented.

"He certainly had a fearsome aura, and a deep seated determination about something." Ruko commented.

Hanmou just stared off into the distance, "Naruto… these Hyuugas, what type of seal is it that they would put on me?"

Naruto thought for a moment before replying, "It's some kind of caged bird seal which allows main house members to harm them at will. It also seals the Byakugan inside them at death."

Hanmou snorted and muttered something about Byakugan and sealing. He shrugged and dashed forward, allowing the others to follow in his wake.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A day later, the giant wall surrounding Konoha came into view, making it's presence known to all the world and lending falsity to the title, Hidden Village. The bustling line of people attempting to make their way into the village was almost half a mile long, or maybe even more. The four companions took up a position in the line and prepared for a long wait. Naruto passed the time by throwing small rocks at the people ahead in line, then ducking for cover before they noticed him, needless to say, several arguments. And one fistfight broke out.

This public disturbance turned out to be a blessing and a curse for Naruto and his friends. One of the ANBU who had come to quell the problem spotted the blonde, did a double take, then fell upon the blonde, embracing him in a fierce hug.

"NARUTO!" the ANBU, a male by the sound of it, yelled.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked, hugging the man back.

"Yes," the ANBU confirmed, "we thought you were dead, but here you are, come quickly, we have to get you to the Hokage immediately."

"C'mon guys!" Naruto called over his shoulder as he took off after Iruka.

The three lost nin jumped after Naruto, all thinking the same thought;

_Home at last_


	5. Precious People

Hey everyone!

Wow, it's been a reaaaaallllyyy long time since I updated... well, my writers block seems to have let up for now, so maybe you'll get some more chapters... maybe ;) lol.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do have pie, and that's good enough for me.

* * *

Mayoigo

Chapter 4

Precious People

Naruto burst through the Hokage's door, completely ignoring, and knocking over one of the ANBU guards who failed miserably to intercept the orange blur that raced its way into her office, then was promptly thrown back out by a punch of herculean magnitude. He hit the same ANBU, struggling to get up on the way out.

"BAKA! Knock first!" Tsunade yelled at the hole in the wall on the other side of the hallway.

Naruto groaned in response and tried to climb out of the rubble. Ordinarily, Tsunade wouldn't have minded an intrusion like that, but you can't have nukenin flying into your office all day, especially when you're having a go at your secret stash of sake. Most of Tsunade's stash had been found by Shizune, and promptly destroyed via katon jutsu, luckily, Shizune never checked inside the Hokage's personal journal, which Tsunade had switched out for a box of the same size, and with a clever genjutsu, same appearance.

Tsunade quickly stashed her drink, cleared her throat, and signaled for the ANBU at the door to let Naruto in. Naruto stepped in and the ANBU stepped out, only to be bowled over by another ANBU and three other figures who burst in through the door.

"By the Kami! What did I do today!?" the ANBU asked from the ground.

The four new people laughed sheepishly and helped the ANBU up, he stepped out. Tsunade sat down and laced her fingers together, examining the three newcomers. One, clearly a Hyuuga, was wearing a pair of loose fitting pants, and a dark blue vest over a white shirt. He wasn't looking directly at her like everyone else, but at the far wall. The girl was wearing a a simple purple kimono over something underneath which she couldn't quite see. She emanated a strange presence that Tsunade couldn't seem to ignore. The boy on the other side was the least remarkable. He had a pair of brown cargo pants and a black t-shirt, nothing too impressive. However, he was the one who caught her attention. She could tell he was not well, but he still emanated a strong aura.

Then her gaze switched to Naruto. She felt her eyes sting slightly as she looked at her foster brother. She blinked away the tears quickly, but didn't take her eyes away.

"Baa-Chan?" Naruto questioned, earning a glare from her.

"What?" she asked.

"Why are you staring at me?"

She snorted and signed a form, which she shoved towards him quickly. He dodged backwards, thinking it was another punch, but retrieved the form when she proffered it again, more slowly this time. He took it and read it. It was a bunch of official stuff about reinstating him as a genin and some such things.

"Take that to the registration office and you'll be reinstated." Tsunade said very carefully.

Naruto grinned and sprinted out of the room, avoiding the ANBU guards this time.

"And now, who are you?" She asked the three.

"Excuse us Hokage-Sama." The Hyuuga replied, focusing his eyes on her, "My name is Hanmou, this is Ayumi, and that is Ruko. We are lost-nin."

Tsunade's eyes widened a little, "From which war?"

"Ruko and Ayumi are from the attack of the Kyuubi, I am not from a war, but an assassination."

Tsunade nodded. A small family had moved away from the Konoha Hyuuga compound to escape the cruelty of the main house. Apparently they had been killed within a year, and now here stood the last of them.

"I see, however, due to the recent war with the Sound we are fairly suspicious, therefore, I suggest you head down to the registration office." She handed them each a pre-prepared scroll from her desk, "Present these and you will be given direction. You will also be under constant guard for the time being, a guard will be assigned to you there."

They were escorted by Iruka to the registration office and were each given a form to fill out after handing in their scrolls.

"Errr, Hanmou, what's our equivalent ranking?" Ruko asked.

"hmmmm. Well, Naruto mentioned something about being a Gennin... try that." Hanmou replied.

"And uhhhh... what should I put for a family name..."

Hanmou sighed, "I don't know Ruko, just think of something."

"But you don't have a family name."

Hanmou slapped his head and turned to Ruko, "Then use Ayumi's name, it should work."

"Remind me again why I'm doing your paperwork as well?" Ruko asked.

Ayumi looked up, "Gah... you two, give me those."

"And we are eternally grateful for a team mate who spent years as an administration worker." Ruko intoned as he handed her his sheet.

"Among other things." she winked at him, turning to the papers.

The forms were done in record time, and the clerk was clearly amazed at the swiftness with which one person had completed the three forms. The clerk would swear on some days that they were designed to keep a person here for hours so that they could be observed.

"Thank you, here are your temporary shinobi licenses and temporary resident passes. Good day, your guard will be with you today or tomorrow." the clerk told them after he took their forms.

As they left Ruko snorted and looked at the papers, "License to kill, hehe."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

As it turned out, their shinobi guard was in fact their loudmouthed blond friend, who was waiting for them at the apartment they had been assigned.

"Hey guys!" He shouted at them from the stairs.

They stared for a moment before smiling and letting him help them find their apartment. This turned out to be a bad idea.

"Let's see... 8, 9, 10, 12... wait... I missed a few back here..." Naruto mused, trying to figure out which door was theirs.

"I believe it is this one Naruto." Ayumi said, indicating apartment 11.

"Heh, well I guess you're right Ayumi-chan" Naruto said, putting a hand behind his head.

They opened the door and found a small apartment. Fortunately it had two rooms, one for the guys and one for Ayumi. There were a proper number of beds and chairs, it was in fact, perfect.

"Wow, this is great!" Ayumi cried.

"Erm.. sorry about her, she's never really had a home of her own... then again, neither have any of us." Hanmou replied.

Naruto shrugged and leaned on a wall, waiting for the others to drop their stuff off. Ruko disappeared into one of the rooms for a moment and came out, leaving behind a slight clutter of items that couldn't possibly have been on his person.

"How did you do that??" Naruto asked, clearly amazed.

"I'll tell you some other time." he replied evenly.

The other two dropped their packs off and came back into the main room.

"Well, c'mon guys, I'll treat you to some Ramen! I got a huge bonus for returning you three to the village. It's an A class paycheck! I should do this more often!" Naruto told them.

A few minutes and strange looks later Naruto was sitting at the counter of Ichiraku's ramen stand, along with the three lost nin.

"Naruto! It's wonderful to see you. What can I get for you, first bowl is on me!" Old man Ichiraku said.

Naruto yelped with glee and began to order two dozen "warmp-up" bowls. Hanmou raised an eyebrow quizzically at the massive order. Ayumi's mouth fell open as she watched Naruto blow through the first six bowls. Ruko merely took a seat and snagged one of the bowls before Naruto was able to attack it. Ruko was quite impressed, this was the best bowl of pork ramen he had ever had.

"Hey Naruto. Are you even tasting that?" Ayumi asked amazedly.

Naruto would have responded were it not for the mass of noodles stuffed down his throat and in his mouth. The three ninja shrugged and ordered their ramen, fearing that it might all be gone if they waited any longer.

When they finished their Ramen Naruto showed them around town. After leaving behind the market and residential districts they entered a slightly shadier side of town.

"Hmmm, that's the book store for perverted books, that's the bar... villager only I think right now, something about unrestrained jutsu use."

"Ummm, Naruto... why are we here?" Ayumi asked, shying away disgustedly from a pair of laughing drunken men.

"Eh? Oh, I'm going to my apartment. You guys should get back too. Konoha hasn't been quite as safe as it once was at dark." Naruto replied, "Can you guys find your way back from here?"

Before they could reply Naruto turned into a small front yard of a rather disgusting shanty apartment. Rusted and forgotten toys littered the small yard, and the main door appeared to be rather lacking in the way of a few screws on the hinges. Ruko and Ayumi stared in amazement at the squalor before them.

"This is where you live?" Ruko asked incredulously.

"Heh..." Naruto began, putting his hand behind his head, "It's not much from outside. But it's home."

After Naruto let them in they realized he was right. Naruto's apartment was something of a small two room sanctuary in the midst of the filth that surrounded it. The rooms had been painted in soft hues of blue and aquamarine, the carpets and counters were clean, if not uncluttered from various cooking utinsels, namely a pot and many forks which had yet to be washed. The bed in the far corner of the main area had a picture of what appeared to be his genin team on it, along with a few others that adorned the wall above it.

But strangest of all was the ceiling. The ceiling wasn't in any of the soft colors that coated the walls, but was what appeared to be a large painters canvas. A tranquil forest decorated the greater portion of the ceiling, but that was not all. A large group of people was painted into the mural, and a smaller group decorated a smaller area that appeared to be desert, while only a five people stood in an azure ocean, two of which had been blurred out slightly, along with one from the forest.

"Wh... What is this?" Ayumi asked, staring in awe.

Naruto's usually smiling face grimly looked up at the ceiling. "Those are my precious people. I once lived in a world filled with only hate and suffering. Then these people came and rescued me from the hell that could be called existence. For that, I owe them my life, I've sworn to protect every one of them to my dying breath... and beyond if possible. I've already failed these people once, and I made a vow to never do it again." Determination filled Naruto's eyes, "And I'll never take back my words! That's my Nindo!"

The three companions stared at their once smiling companion. His words seemed to strike a chord in their bodies at ignite a fire in their hearts. This was truly an amazing person!

However, Naruto slipped back into his normal smiling self a moment later, "Well, it's late, you guys better leave. I'll be at your place tomorrow morning."

"How did you do this?" Ruko asked, amazed.

"It's a highly advanced chakra control exercise... I invented it to help myself with my clumsy control. It forces you to manipulate the chakra into an area around your hands, moving the paint into the proper positions. I started out with black and white, but I've moved onto colors. Those are even harder, not only do you need to move the paint, but you must also _feel_ the colors through your hands and manipulate them into the hues you want."

Their eyes returned to the painting with new respect. However, one question still remained to be asked.

"Naruto... who are the people without faces?" Ayumi asked.

Naruto's facade fell once again, but he replied anyway "Those are Haku and Zabuza, killed by Gatou. The other one is... my brother... Sasuke."

Only Hanmou made out the last word, and judging from the sound of it, it pained Naruto to speak of the boy. He quietly gestured to the other two and they slipped out.

Naruto didn't even notice they were gone, he continued to stare at the picture long into the night.

* * *

Like it? Hate it? Review! 

Writers live off reviews... that, and Ramen. But leave Naruto out of this! Also, thanks to everyone who had reviewed before and who have me on their favs and alerts!


	6. Blood Gambit

WOOOHOOO I'm so happy, I finally got a chapter up. :p, well, hopefully things will go smoother. I was actually able to get into a writing groove today, so I can do stuff now!

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but that's ok, I wouldn't want to have to draw it.

* * *

Mayoigo

Chapter 5

Blood Gambit

_'Katon, Karyuu Endan' _

Naruto threw himself to the floor as the fire dragon roared through the corridor, singing his blond hair and scorching the stone walls. A sharp kick hurled Naruto through the air and onto a pile of burning debris. The sharp pain of wood piercing his skin and flame burning his back sent Naruto leaping into the air in time to take another hit, this one a strong hook to the stomach. Naruto's airborne figure curled over the punch and flew into the wall.

Naruto recovered his senses mid-flight and managed to execute a backflip, landing on his feet and skidding a few feet down the rocky corridor. The other ninja began forming more seals. Naruto's hands blurred and a pair of shuriken whizzed through the intervening space between them. The two small projectiles buried themselves in the shinobi's arm and chest, causing small crimson spots to form on his clothing and interrupting his concentration.

Naruto smirked and charged forward. The other ninja dropped into a fighting stance and aimed a kick at Naruto's legs, hoping to trip him up rather than have to go head on. Naruto jumped into the air and flipped the shinobi's head, bringing his leg around and kicking him in the back of the head. He grunted fell forward onto his hands, leaving him completely open to Naruto's next attack. Naruto stomped down on the man's back, feeling a satisfying crack as his spine broke just below the neck.

"Don't move and you might be able to continue as a shinobi, otherwise..." Naruto suggested coldly.

The man froze and continued to lie face down,"wh-who are you?"

Naruto paused for a second to mark the hallway he had just walked down before answering, "I'll ask the questions, where is your prisoner?"

The man seemed to stiffen slightly but relaxed quickly, "Jiraiya? I don't know, Otokage brought him in last week, he hasn't been seen anywhere above the third level since then."

Naruto sighed continued, "And which way to level four?"

"The way I came from... not far ahead is the elevator."

"If you've lied to me I'll come back and finish what I began."

Naruto turned around and began striding down the hallway in disgust, that man didn't deserve to be a shinobi in Naruto's eyes, no nukenin did. Naruto felt a spike in chakra as he reached the end of the hallway and turned just in time to see another fire dragon rush into him.

"_No time to dodge!"_ Naruto thought frantically.

Naruto clenched his eyes shut and waited for the pain to begin. A few seconds later he opened his eyes and blinked at the figure standing before him. Hyuuga Hanmou had placed himself in front of Naruto and a few last wisps of dragon fire licked along the air directly in front of him. Hanmou smiled at Naruto and pointed at the ninja on the floor. That jutsu had been his last act in life apparently, the completion of the jutsu had aggravated his body enough that he had finished himself off, saving Naruto the trouble.

"Thanks Hanmou, where are the others?" Naruto asked quickly.

Hanmou tossed his head back down the side passage he had apparently come from, "Finishing up with the others. I came ahead when I sensed the fire dragon, I figured that you might have trouble with someone who could use a jutsu that high level."

Naruto snorted, "He was no problem, I was just too soft. How can I expect to become Hokage if a chuunin can overpower me?"

Hanmou raised and eyebrow and shrugged, "Still on that?"

Naruto grinned and nodded, then turned his attention to Ayumi and Ruko who had just arrived, "Alright guys, the guy back there said that Ero-sennin was on the lower levels, so that's where we're going."

"Didn't he try and kill you afterwards?" Ayumi asked, "How can we trust his information?"

"It's all we've got to go on right now, so let's move."

The four ninja soon arrived at a shifty looking elevator which descended into darkness. The wire cage was completely rusted over, and Naruto was sure that the chain was being held together by nothing more than the thin rope that was laced through its links.

"Wow, looks like Orochimaru is down on his luck these days." Naruto mused, "This thing would probably fall apart if we all went..."

Ruko stepped forward, "You'll need me to know which way to go once you get down there."

Naruto nodded, "Alright, Ayumi and Hanmou stay here, we'll be right back."

They stepped into the elevator and Naruto gave them a foxy grin as he started it up, "Ero-sennin always said we wanted in-depth research..."

The elevator descended rapidly while playing some strange music from a speaker overhead, this made Naruto and Ruko feel slightly awkward for some strange reason. They were relieved when the elevator stopped and they were able to escape from the rusting jaws of the metal deathtrap. Ruko took a look at the three pathways and pointed to the left hand passage.

"That one." He said.

Naruto took a look at the other two, "You're sure?"

"I remember it clearly, it is this one. Observe."

Ruko pulled a shuriken out of his weapons pouch and hurled it at the middle passage. The spinning projectile entered the passageway and was instantly struck down by a bolt of lightning.

"Eheh, remind me to listen to you about things like this." Naruto replied sheepishly, edging along the wall to the left opening.

The passageway stank of rot and some other unsavory things which Naruto preferred not to think about at the moment, mostly because he was walking through it. The passage opened into a grand chamber with a trio of crosses set in the middle, three separate shafts of light falling from three dim lamps illuminating the figures that hung from them.

Ruko's pupils dilated and he felt himself pulled away from the present by an irresistible force, he grabbed hold of Naruto just before the world faded into darkness.

-Flashback-

_Naruto and Ruko stood in the familiar surroundings of Naruto's apartment, the scent of ramen cooking pervaded the air as another Naruto sat down at his small table. Naruto glanced over at another Ruko, who was standing in the middle of his living room._

"_What are you doing here anyway Ruko?" past Naruto asked._

_Past Ruko continued to stare at the ceiling, "I'm looking for something... Ah, there it is."_

_Past Ruko pointed to the painting on the ceiling, his finger jabbed unerringly at a white haired man in the forest section. "Who is that?"_

"_Ero-sennin? He's just an old pervert. Why?"_

"_He's in some sort of trouble. Do you know of a black haired boy with red eyes and a man who uses snakes?"_

"_Sasuke... and Orochimaru!" Naruto snarled the last word._

"_This man and two others encountered these two and white haired man sometime last week, I am fairly sure they were defeated."_

"_How do you know?"_

"_I... saw them. They aren't in good condition. If you wish to protect your precious persons we must leave at once. I have already roused Ayumi and Hanmou, if you wish to go we will aid you. I have also paid a visit to your Hokage and gained her permission to leave on a mission. I did not provide her with this data, as I suspect she would be suspicious as to how I obtained it."_

"_Why are we still here! Let's go."_

-End Flashback-

-Flashback-

_Ruko and Naruto appeared in the exact same room that their current bodies were in, but instead of them, it was Sasuke, Orochimaru and Kabuto who stood before the three crosses._

"_Ah, Jiraiya-_sama_, my old teammate, and the famous copy-nin Kakashi, I expected they would send someone of your caliber to find me. But who is this?" Orochimaru hissed, releasing a light chuckle._

"_That would be Neji, the Hyuuga prodigy." Kabuto replied._

"_Oh? A Hyuuga. How interesting, Kabuto, would you like to have some fun with him? I've heard that their eyes are quite valuable."_

"_I would, but this one has the caged bird seal on his head, meaning his Byakugan is useless to anyone if he ever dies, or his eyes are removed from his head. Still, I think I may be able to find a way around it with time. I will remain here to conduct the necessary experiments before returning to Oto."_

"_Of course, have fun with your new toys Kabuto, oh, and make sure that Jiraiya suffers before he dies... perhaps you would like to keep Sasuke here to administer the, _farewell_?"_

_The raven haired teen just smirked a little, before nodding his head at Kabuto's questioning glance._

-End Flashback-

Ruko's eyes contracted back to their normal size and he rubbed them furiously against the pain that was flowing through his skull. Naruto on the other hand charged forward, straight into the carefully laid trap.

A loud hiss was followed by a massive explosion as Naruto was hurled into the air by the well placed explosive tag like a cheap rag doll. He slammed into the wall and sunk to the floor, only to be dragged back into the air by a heavy mesh net which sprang up around his feet. Trapping him in the air, limbs tangled and glued to a strange substance that coated the net.

"Dobe. You are so predictable. I should kill you now, but first, I should deal with your friend so I can enjoy myself." came a voice from the shadows.

Sasuke stepped out of a high archway on the opposite side of the domed room. His Sharingan swirled as he took in Ruko, measuring him up based on his superior sight, and finding him lacking.

"You are weak. I won't sully my Kusangi with your thin blood." With that, Sasuke disappeared.

Ruko brought his hand up and caught Sasuke's foot an inch away from his face, and reflecting a punch with his other gloved hand. Ruko closed his hand around Sasuke's foot and focused a small amount of chakra into his gloves while catching another punch with his foot. Needles sprang from his fingertips, easily piercing Sasuke's skin and delivering their potent venom.

Sasuke snarled fiercely at Ruko and locked eyes with him, attempting to trap him in the Sharingan's famous hypnosis. Ruko, recognizing some form of genjutsu, but not whatever this was, hurled Sasuke back and laced his fingers together;

_Kai_

Ruko felt his mind realign itself with reality as the Sharingan lost its grip on his mind. However, before he had time to celebrate, a sword struck at him from behind. Ruko hurled himself to the side as Sasuke stumbled slightly through his interrupted charge, but he kept going, putting some distance between them. Several shuriken leaped from Sasuke's hands, closing on Ruko before he had a chance to do anything. However, none of the shuriken hit him, but rather circled him, catching him up in the wires that were attached to them.

"What?!" Ruko cried out, realizing he had been caught by a relatively simple trick.

Sasuke flashed through a set of hand seals and inhaled deeply;

_Kat-_

"SASUKE!" Naruto shouted from his prison, having awakened from unconsciousness.

Sasuke paused for a second, glancing at Naruto before turning back to his victim;

_Katon, Karyuu Endan_

An enormous dragon of fire erupted from Sasuke's mouth and engulfed Ruko, turning him into a red mist. Sasuke's eyes widened as he felt a lance of pain shoot through his body, then a presence behind him let itself be known.

"Chishio Bunshin" Ruko whispered in his ear.

Sasuke focused his chakra;

_Chidori Nagashi_

Ruko convulsed as lightning erupted from Sasuke's body and hurled him away from the boy. Ruko bounced off the ground several times before skidding to a stop, smoke seeping off of his body. Sasuke screamed in pain and fell to his knees, clutching at his hair, his Sharingan tomoe's spinning wildly as pain coursed through his chakra system.

"What did you do to me!?" Sasuke screamed at Ruko.

Ruko coughed, then chuckled a little. "Isn't it obvious? Some genius you are, Naruto spoke so highly of you to us."

Sasuke snorted and thought back, then it hit him as he deactivated his Sharingan, due to the fact that his eyes were beginning to sting, "You poisoned me!"

"Heh, yes, and that poison won't wear off without and antidote, the plant it's made from feeds on chakra, and has a rather violent reaction whenever it is used. Your chances of continuing on as a ninja are minimal. Of course... if the greatest medical ninja of this age were to help you..." Ruko left the thought hanging, before getting to his feet, painfully. "And now, it's time to complete this. You underestimated me at the start, and now you're going to die for it."

"No! Ruko, don't kill him, we need to bring him back with us. We can't kill him, I promised I would bring him back!"

Ruko felt himself torn, he knew that Naruto would never break a promise, and he also knew that Sasuke needed to die. Merely bringing him back would not work, he would only run away again as he was now. Ruko sighed and brought his hands up.

_Horse_

_Ox_

_Boar_

_Dragon_

_Chishio Bunshin Nojutsu_

Ruko flicked the blood from the needles on his gloves onto the ground and it grew swiftly into a perfect copy of Sasuke.

"Keep him busy while we go," Ruko instructed the clone, then to Sasuke, "You accused me of being weak at the beginning of our fight and underestimated me, it is you who are truly weak. Abandoning your comrades for a chance at power is disgusting. You are nothing but filth Uchiha Sasuke. I personally don't care what happens to you, but for Naruto's sake, I must say this; when you can no longer continue, seek me out. You will know where to find me."

Ruko moved to cut Naruto down while his Chishio Bunshin engaged the errant Uchiha, Sharingan fully active. Ruko cut Naruto down and grabbed him before he could go off to fight Sasuke.

"We need to help your friends now. Sasuke will come back to us, I've made sure of that. But if we make him we're only providing a temporary solution"

Naruto clenched his fists and it looked as if he was going to hit Ruko and run off the grab Sasuke. However, he slowly breathed in and nodded, before turning his attention to the three crosses. Arrayed upon these great monstrosities were Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Neji. Ruko and Naruto stared for a second before Jiraiya's head snapped up for a second, a sickly, half-mad grin on his face.

"What took ya so long brat?"

Naruto jumped onto the cross and tried to haul Jiraiya down, but found that he was being held up not only by several nails through his arms and feet, but also a large spike which barely peeked out of his gut. Naruto gasped in horror and began to jerk harder, only to have Jiraiya let our a scream of agony.

"NARUTO! STOP!" Ruko yelled, yanking the blond away, "We have to do this the right way, my clone should buy us enough time to do it anyway."

Ruko brought his hand up and focused his chakra into a blade shape. He moved forward, focusing green healing chakra into his other hand. With a few deft strokes of his wrist he freed Jiraiya from the jagged spikes, applying the healing chakra whenever he had to cut deeply or pull away from the cruel spikes. In a dozen seconds he had Jiraiya off and had the other two off in another thirty.

"Well, there's enough blood here. I guess I can make another one, easier this time though."

Ruko flew through the hand seals and created another Chishio Bunshin. The blood in the area gathered into one being, this time a copy of Ruko, and grabbed Neji, while Ruko grabbed Kakashi and Naruto carefully picked up Jiraiya.

As they headed towards the exit Ruko suddenly flinched and ducked as a kunai whizzed over his head. He maintained he grip on Kakashi and turned back. Sasuke stood before him, in all the glory on his first level curse seal. However, just as Sasuke raised his Kusangi to deliver a killing blow, another bolt of agony tore through his body as the poison reacted to the alarmingly increased amount of chakra being given off by the teen. Sasuke screamed in pain and fell to his knees. Ruko kicked him in the chest and sent him flying into the wall where he stayed, slumped and sobbing from the pain wracking his body, curse seal receeding.

"Baka." Ruko muttered.

Naruto and Naruto exited and got to the elevator where they took turns taking the captives up one at a time. When they were all up with Hanmou and Ayumi Ruko dispelled the Bunshin after it handed Kakashi over to Hanmou.

"Alright. Let's go!" Naruto yelled, falsely enthusiastic.

The others decided to let it go. After all, Naruto had had a reallly bad week. In fact, this day had probably been the worst of all those days.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

They ran, and did not stop until they reached the border of fire country, where they were met by a special division of ANBU who had received a message from one of Naruto's Kage Bunshins. The ANBU carried the three unconscious ninja to the hospital where they were treated for a series of rather unwholesome diseases and a number of successive wounds and reopened scars.

Several craters were found later that day, the occupants of which included three new genin and one very loudmouthed blond ninja who kept yelling something about 'Obaa-Chan!'

* * *

So, what do you think? 

Techniques:

Chishio Bunshin: the user uses blood, either his own or someone else's, to create a clone of himself or that person. A clone created with Chishio Bunshin possesses all the physical characteristics and bloodline abilities of the person who's blood was used to create it, or it can just be a conventional clone of the creator. Chishio Bunshin requires less chakra for the greater amount of blood available to make it with, due to the fact that the jutsu can draw on the chakra from the blood and the fact that chakra doesn't have to form so much solid matter, as is the case with Kage Bunshin.

You all know the other jutsus!


End file.
